Kindred by Octavia Butler

I’ve been sitting on this review for quite a while, not 100% sure what I wanted to say about this book. I was only about half finished with it during our book club discussion, but reading all of the comments, I knew I just didn’t feel as strongly about this book as most of you did. And I was pissed. I really wanted to love this. I was so fired up to read it. But maybe there was just too much hype, that when I found it to be “just fine,” I felt like I missed something. Why didn’t I […]

Kindred by Octavia Butler

After my reread, I tried to remember during which Cannonball Read I had originally discovered this novel, only to realize that I had done most of my Butler reading before I participated in CBR. I had a short post on my now defunct blog where I mentioned it, but it’s been over ten years (!) since I read this so I had forgotten a lot of the details. Basic plot details: Dana, an African American woman living in California in 1976, starts getting called back to the past, early 19th century Maryland whenever Rufus, a white ancestor of hers, is […]

Hello Lovely Cannonballers, did you read A Wrinkle in Time? Did you comment on our Book Club post? Did you see the movie? (I didn’t read the book, did see the movie, and I have *thoughts*). Most importantly, are you ready for two more book clubs this year? As we celebrate our tenth anniversary we asked you to vote in two categories, a well-reviewed Cannonball book (10 or more reviews and an average Cannonballer rating higher than 4.6) and something that AlabamaPink read during the first Cannonball Read. You made your voices heard, and we’re happy to announce that Friday and Saturday, […]

A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet, #1) by Madeleine L'Engle

I still love this. The last time I read A Wrinkle in Time was ten years ago. I hadn’t read the book in years before that, and barely remembered it, except for a few images that had burned into my subconscious (the man with the red eyes, for example; the Murry’s vegetable garden and their laboratory; Charles Wallace; and I remembered that I thought it was terrifying). It’s basically impossible for me to read or review it now without my childhood impressions coloring it. Because I think this may be one of those cases where a book is best first […]

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The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard

To quote a literary legend “The play’s the thing!” and we’ll be reading and discussing Tom Stoppard’s The Real Inspector Hound on Wednesday December 13, 2017. I have posted Discussion Topics post as a reminder to finish up and food for thought. As in Book Clubs past, feel free to visit us here on the group blog for the dedicated post or in our Facebook Cannonball Read Book Chat group where I’ll have even more topics to discuss. Here’s a synopsis of our choice: The ultimate parody of the stage and literary convention of the country-house mystery. The Real Inspector Hound is a short, one-act play […]

In Praise of Hatred by Khaled Khalifa

Welcome to our third book club chat of the year: In Praise of Hatred by Khaled Khalifa. I’m interested to hear what everyone’s reading experiences were like with this book. Ground rules remain the same as they always have. For those of you who might be joining us for the first time (hello new friends!) all are welcome. All of our topics are numbered and we ask that you refer to them below by that number to help people find the conversation topics they are looking for. If you are responding to someone else’s thoughts, please try to respond directly […]

In Praise of Hatred by Khaled Khalifa

Our September book club is coming up quickly, we’re just two weeks away. Our non-western literary fiction choice In Praise of Hatred by Khaled Khalifa has lots for the reader to absorb and think about. Our group chat about this book will get going around 2 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday September 13th, both here and in our Facebook group, the Book Chat. Book Club is open to anyone and everyone. If there’s a topic, thought or opinion you’d like to see addressed, leave a comment down below and I’ll see what I can do about getting it included in the main post […]

The Devourers by Indra Das

Unfortunately, life happened, so it’s been a while since my last review. It took me an extra month to finish the last 60 pages of The Devourers! I did participate in our Cannonball Read book club discussion on time. Better late to review than never, I say. 😉 The Devourers was on several 2016 year end lists. I hadn’t read much contemporary fantasy, so was very intrigued to read it. I also love stories about shape-shifters (and most supernatural creatures). While reading the Kate Daniels’ series by Ilona Andrews, she introduced me to the concept of shifters with various cultures and forms. Rakshasas were shifters […]

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